CHESTER-LE-STREET: Jonny Bairstow bludgeoned a brilliant 83 not out in Durham to lead England to a three-wicket win over New Zealand on the Duckworth-Lewis method on Saturday, earning a 3-2 victory in the five-match series of One-day Internationals (partly reported in Sunday’s edition).

In a rain-affected final game at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, Bairstow’s classy knock and a hard-hitting 41 in 30 deliveries from Sam Billings helped England chase down a revised total of 192 from 26 overs with six balls to spare.

World Cup runners-up New Zealand hit 283 for nine off 50 overs and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory after taking several early wickets.

Wicket-keeper/batsman Bairstow, replacing the injured Jos Buttler, then produced an innings worthy of a thrilling series that yielded more than 3,000 runs for the first time in a five-match ODI encounter.

“It’s been fantastic to come back in. The guys have put in some great performances in this series ... to top it off is very special,” he said.

After a rain delay England’s reply got off to a dismal start with spinner Santner removing Alex Hales (1), Joe Root (4) and Eoin Morgan (0) to reduce the hosts to 20 for three.

Stokes (17) quickly came and went and New Zealand were in complete control when opener Jason Roy was dismissed for 12 to leave his team 45 for five.

An unflustered Bairstow, however, turned the game around with his 60-ball innings.

“Credit to England they held their nerve under pressure,” said McCullum. “They had the series on the line but managed to stay true to their attacking philosophies. It’s been a tremendous series.”

England and New Zealand will now contest a one-off Twenty20 match at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday.

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND:

M.J. Guptill c Bairstow b Stokes 67

B.B. McCullum b Finn 6

K.S. Williamson b Stokes 50

L.R.P.L. Taylor c Bairstow b Willey 47

M.J. Santner b Rashid 2

G.D. Elliott st Bairstow b Rashid 35

L. Ronchi c Morgan b Willey 2

B.M. Wheeler not out 39

T.G. Southee b Stokes 18

M.J. Henry c Stokes b Finn 12

A.W. Mathieson not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-2) 5

TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 283

FALL OF WKTS: 1-7, 2-101, 3-150, 4-155, 5-210, 6-212, 7-219, 8-244, 9-267.

BOWLING: Finn 10-0-73-2 (2w); Willey 10-0-50-2; Wood 10-0-60-0; Stokes 10-0-52-3; Rashid 10-0-45-2

ENGLAND (revised target 192 in 26 overs):

J.J. Roy c Guptill b Mathieson 12

A.D. Hales c Williamson b Santner 1

J.E. Root st Ronchi b Santner 4

E.J.G. Morgan c Guptill b Santner 0

B.A. Stokes c McCullum b Wheeler 17

J.M. Bairstow not out 83

S.W. Billings c Taylor b Henry 41

D.J. Willey c Santner b Wheeler 7

A.U. Rashid not out 12

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-6, W-8) 15

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 25 overs) 192

FALL OF WKTS: 1-8, 2-20, 3-20, 4-40, 5-45, 6-125, 7-138.

DID NOT BAT: M.A. Wood, S.T. Finn.

BOWLING: Southee 4-0-28-0 (3w); Santner 6-0-31-3; Wheeler

5-0-33-2; Mathieson 4-0-40-1

(1w); Henry 5-0-37-1 (3w); Elliott 1-0-16-0 (1w).

RESULT: England won by three wickets (D/L method) to win series 3-2.

UMPIRES: M.A. Gough (England) and BN.J. Oxenford (Australia).

TV UMPIRE: S.J. Davis (Australia).

MATCH REFEREE: J. Srinath (India).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Jonny Bairstow.

MAN-OF-THE-SERIES: Kane Williamson.

FIRST MATCH: Edgbaston, England won by 210 runs.

SECOND MATCH: The Oval, New Zealand won by 13 runs (D/L method).

THIRD MATCH: Southampton, New Zealand won by three wickets.

FOURTH MATCH: Trent Bridge, England won by seven wickets.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2015

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